Stephen Thompson has delivered plenty of impressive performances over the years, but I don’t think I enjoyed a “Wonderboy” effort quite like I did his win over Geoff Neal on Saturday. In my eyes, that fight showed why we watch combat sports, from the technique of both men, the heated exchanges and the grit each had to show to get through those five rounds. When it was over, Thompson had scored back-to-back wins over two of the top rising stars in the welterweight division, setting up what should be an interesting 2021 campaign for the pride of Simpsonville, SC.

When talking to Rob Font before his Saturday bout against Marlon Moraes, he wasn’t worried in the slightest that he was taking on one of the bantamweight elite after a year-long layoff. Guess that’s the difference between fighters and the rest of us, because Font not only scored the biggest win of his career, he shook off an early takedown to pick apart and finish a top contender in the first round. That’s one in the books for the New England Cartel. Next up is Calvin Kattar against Max Holloway in January.

After going through a rough 1-4 stretch in 2017-19 like Marcin Tybura did, a lot of fighters would have started to wonder whether their best days were behind them. But not the Poland native, who regrouped and put together the best year of his career in 2020, as he went 4-0. Last Saturday night, “Tybur” weathered an early storm from Greg Hardy and roared back in the second round to become the first fighter to stop the former NFL star. It was an impressive show of resilience from Tybura, who set himself up for some big fights next year.

Jimmy Flick gave us a taste of what he could do with his grappling game when he beat Nate Smith on Dana White’s Contender Series in September, and while his UFC debut against Cody Durden started off shaky, the Oklahoman quickly rebounded and finished his foe with a flying triangle that suddenly became a late add to the top submissions of 2020 list. Flick is a fun addition to the flyweight division, and it’s going to be interesting to see what he does in 2021. I can already picture the chaos a fight between Flick and Tim Elliott would produce. Yes, that’s on my list for Santa.